David Lodge’s latest novel, ‘A Man Of Parts’, deals with the turbulent friendship between novelists H.G. Wells and E. Nesbit: if the extracts he reads from at this event are to be believed, it is as full of good humour, scandal and philosophy as everything else he puts his name to. It is an engrossing hour. The characters are clearly embedded into his psyche, and his reading is pure theatre; competing with the rain on the rooftop, he wins by a mile. Later, he answers questions about biography – this is his second biographical novel, after 2004’s ‘Author, Author’, about Henry James – and the “art of fiction” with quick wit and a rather professorial tendency to ramble.
RBS Main Theatre, 25 Aug, 11.30am (12.30pm), £8.00 – £10.00, bfpp42.
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Sections: by Ellie Blow - ED2011 Book Reviews | Tags: Edinburgh International Book Festival
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